Your Guest Blogging Strategy

When it comes to guest blogging, it takes time to learn the ins and outs of it and develop a strategy that works for you. Learn from those that have gone before you and made some mistakes doing it. Below you will find some common mistakes and blunders that guest bloggers make or have made. Now that you’re being made aware of them, you should avoid them entirely.

1. Go into the process blind – The worst thing you can do is go into this blind without doing any research!  You need to do your due diligence and spend some time researching blogs so that you can find ones that will be a good fit for you.Find out what the site owner expects of their guest bloggers. Find out their guidelines – can you include links to your site, do they have certain formatting rules you need to follow, basically find out everything you can BEFORE you submit your pitch to them.You should also find out about their traffic and you can do that via Alexa.com. And don’t forget to go to social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter to see if the site is being talked about and to check out how many friends/followers they have.
2. Shameless Self-Promotion – Guest blogging is NOT a platform to blatantly promote yourself, your products or your website!  This is a sure way to get a bad rep as a guest blogger and more than likely the site owner won’t even publish your content (or will delete it once they catch wind of the self-promotion).When writing your content focus on what you can add to the site that will help build them up. By taking the focus off of yourself and instead focusing on providing quality content that the audience will be interested in, it helps build your credibility and leave people wanting to know/learn more about you.
3. Not solving the issue – People are looking for answers to their problems. Look for ways you can provide answers to a specific issue the readers may have. Even if you come up with something that is on the unusual side share it because it might peak their interest.
4. Unresponsive to comments – Guest blogging isn’t just about writing a great piece to share. It’s about getting the audience to take action and interact with you (and others) in the comment section.  Most readers will want to know more about you and interacting with them in the comments can be a great way to give them more insight to who you are. Provide relevant comments and try to keep that interaction going – don’t just reply with a ‘thank you for your comment’, take it further and mention something they said in their comment, ask them a question if appropriate. Make the comment section as interactive as you possibly can.
5. Not continuing the journey – Don’t guest blog once or twice and stop. Keep it going. When you’re guest blogging on one site, think about the next opportunity.  You can even set up a guest blogging tour.   Obviously the more you guest blog, the more you’ll get your name and business out and establish yourself as an expert and the go to person for your niche.

Learn about Virtual Book Tours with D’vorah Lansky

Recently my good friend and colleague D’vorah Lansky and I got together for a Google Hangout to talk about her incredible new book, 21 Ways to Launch a Successful Virtual Book Tour. D’vorah has been a trendsetter with blogging and book tours for several years now, and explains how this works when you want to build your credibility and visibility online.

D’vorah offers virtual book tour workshops and courses for authors, entrepreneurs, and virtual professionals. She has taught hundreds of people, across the globe, how to conduct successful virtual book tours. You can purchase her newest book on Amazon at this link, and learn more about what else she has to offer online entrepreneurs and authors by visiting her site.

The Santa Barbara Zoo giraffes are amazing. This past weekend I went to see the two newborn giraffes at this zoo twice. As this adventure unfolded I came to think of what the zoo has done as the ‘marketing of the giraffes’ and will share this brilliant strategy with you.

The Santa Barbara Zoo is gorgeous. It is also very small. The children in the area get to visit with their class once a year, just as we did at the Los Angeles Zoo during the years that I worked as a classroom teacher. Most cities this size (about 100,000 people) do not have a zoo, so just the fact that they have one took great effort. This zoo, located on thirty acres adjacent to the beach, was first opened in 1963 on a private estate and known at that time as the Child’s Estate Zoo.

First, I’ll share a little history about the giraffes here in Santa Barbara. This zoo originally exhibited Baringo giraffes, but in order to maximize genetic diversity within this sub-species they now exhibit Masai giraffes. This is part of an agreement with many zoos on the West coast of the United States, as a way to perpetuate the species without having to transport the animals at great distances. However, the father of these newborns, Michael, was transported from his home in Toronto, Canada to Santa Barbara about a year and a half ago. I heard that they constructed a special vehicle so that he could stand up for the forty-eight hour drive.

Now the group includes Michael; Betty Lou and Audrey, the five year old females; Dane, Audrey’s son; and Sunshine, Betty Lou’s daughter. Dane was born on April 18, 2013, and Sunshine arrived on April 28, 2013. This makes Michael the most genetically viable male Masai giraffe in North America at this time.

The Santa Barbara Zoo does an excellent job of getting the word out to the community about what is going on with the animals there. There isn’t a child in town who doesn’t know about the two newborn giraffes, and most adults in the greater Santa Barbara area are also aware of what is going on surrounding this. Talk of these two blessed events is in the newspaper, on the radio, and in the local magazines. The Zoo’s website is updated regularly with information on the new arrivals, with pictures, names, dates, and height and weight information. Their goal is to get the news out to the people in a way that will make them want to stop by and see for themselves what all the fuss is about.

When you arrive at the zoo there are lots of people and numerous signs to direct you to the giraffe’s exhibit area. For an additional fee (six dollars) you may feed Michael, the male giraffe, with the help of one of the staff. The gift shop has giraffe stuffed animals, figurines, hats, shirt, tails (very cute!), post cards, and more. I refer to this as the ‘marketing of the giraffes’ and it is an excellent strategy.

In addition, the staff is trained and updated regularly as to what is going on. I was there for a private event with Rotary on the first evening, and that’s when I observed a group of zoo employees being briefed on which information to share with visitors, how to anticipate their questions, safety concerns, and more. This makes the experience so much more enjoyable for everyone, especially for the animals, whose health and welfare must be of the utmost concern.

This reminds me of what we do as online entrepreneurs to build our businesses. We go to where the people are, on social media sites and searching on Google and Bing, and invite them to come back to our blogs, our websites, and our events. We may not have anything as exciting as a newborn giraffe, but we can be just as enthusiastic about what we do have to offer the world. If even one person benefits from one of your products, services, trainings, or coaching then you will have a great impact on their life. We can all take a lesson from the Santa Barbara Zoo giraffes marketing success for our own online businesses.

Blogging 101: Responsibilities of a Guest Blogger

Blogging 101 is that you want to ultimately be known as a good guest blogger so that it opens the door for other guest blogging opportunities. You will find that reputations online are even more important than those in the physical world. To be a good guest blogger, here are 7 things you should do:

1. Research – One of the biggest mistakes guest bloggers make is not taking the time to research potential guest blogs. This is an important step because you have to make sure your content matches the focus of that blog.

There are three things you should always know before you pitch a blog owner: what their guest posting guidelines are, what they/their site stands for and what their audience is interested in.  This is even more important if you’re choosing a sub niche.

2. Follow the rules – This is something we were taught as children but it’s worth mentioning. If you don’t follow the rules, the blog owner isn’t going to be happy, obviously. So do your due diligence and make yourself familiar with what is expected of you as a guest blogger and do it!
3. Check the reputation of the blog – This is important because your reputation and credibility are on the line. Any site you guest blog on, you’re linked to. So if you post on a site that turns out to be sketchy, that’s going to be bad news for your credibility and reputation.Also, this means that if you didn’t do your research about a blog and it isn’t very influential in your niche, it’s probably not going to give you much of an ROI (return on investment).And last but certainly not least, if you guest blog on a site that isn’t relevant to your niche, you’re certainly not going to get any targeted traffic which is often one of the main reasons for guest blogging.
4. Build a relationship – Don’t make the mistake of appearing as a guest blogger and then never being in touch with the site owner again. Participate actively on that blog by commenting frequently, but please make sure you leave comments that are relevant and add to the conversation.  This will help keep your name in front of them and their audience.
5. Interact with the audience – It’s really important that you are actively participating with the audience. This means if someone takes the time to comment on your content, you need to make the time to comment back! And do it in a timely fashion.
6. Write outstanding content – Give the audience something new.Whatever you do, do NOT make the mistake of taking old content and using that for a guest blogging appearance!  You want to write brand new, unique, top quality content to use instead.A good rule of thumb to follow – write the same quality of content you would for your own site.
7. Recompense – This simply means to return the favor. In other words, help promote the blog owner’s content (not just your guest post but their own content too).   Share on your social media networks like Twitter or Facebook.

Get started as a guest blogger today with this step by step program.

Carol Marshall, PR expert and public relations guru to the stars, is someone I met while I was volunteering in the Press Room at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival in January. We first met when I was getting coffee at the Starbucks next door to Hotel Santa Barbara where the Press Room is located during the film festival. She saw my bright green t-shirt and badge and came over to thank me for volunteering. I was so moved by this gesture and we talked for a few minutes while our drinks were being prepared. It was then I found out that I would be volunteering with Carol, and it wasn’t until later in the day that I discovered that this humble woman was the person responsible for the great publicity and public relations of the festival.

Carol explained what the function of a Press Room is, how publicity plays a huge part in the marketing of people, events, and films, and why the media are so important. She’s been the Public Relations liaison (publicist) for the Santa Barbara Festival for the past twenty years. She explained the process of choosing the films and the actor’s that will be featured at the Festival.

She started in entertainment public relations in 1979, working with Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand, and the Grammy Award’s during that initial period. She worked with PMK for twenty-four years before starting her own company in 2005.

I asked Carol to talk a little about some of her clients, and she mentioned actor Jimmy Smits as an example. The reason someone hires a publicist is to get their name in front of those who can best help them to achieve their personal and professional goals. Publicity brings awareness, which leads to future jobs and other opportunities. She has now worked with Jimmy for more than twenty-five years.

Carol agreed that what we do on the Internet is similar to show business, and that getting visibility is part of the process. Even though this is not her area of expertise, she acknowledge its importance in the world today. We discussed what she refers to as the ‘social media mentality’ and how it is similar to reality shows in that people want to be noticed every moment of the day.

Is there any such thing as ‘bad’ publicity? Carol says it depends on the circumstances, and you want to be known for things that present you in a positive light to others. It’s all what happens in the aftermath of what you’ve become known for in the first place. Carol’s role as a publicist is to guide her clients by using a strategy that will work well for them. Less can be more when it comes to being in the public eye. Don’t talk about yourself unless you have something to say, with quality over quantity being key.

Will I be hiring a publicist any time soon? Yes, and stay tuned for more details.

Ellen Britt, founder of Marketing Qi, is a savvy businesswoman with a very big heart. When I spoke for the first time at an Internet marketing conference in 2008, she was one of less than fifty people who made sure to hear me speak – even though it was at nine o’clock on a Sunday morning! Ellen was already well established online by that time, and we became fast friends. I have also learned much from her during these past few years on how to build a business that serves my lifestyle.

Ellen is also a leader in the areas of list building and telesummits, and her training with this has helped to build the businesses of hundreds of people from a variety of diverse backgrounds and niches. We discuss this, as well as how she got started online after working in the medical field for many years, in this informative interview. We also talk about her newsletter and her conscious decision to include some personal information in every issue. I know you will find Ellen to be a rare gem who shares her ‘Marketing Qi (pronounced ‘chee’) in a way that you can put into practice right away.

There are many different ways you can use Pinterest to brainstorm ideas, share ideas, showcase your life and more. Because of Pinterest’s quick and easy to use “Pin It” system, you can whip up all kinds of image boards in a jiffy. The very best training on this topic is from Lisa Suttora. Take a look at her Pinterest Training for eCommerce course.

Here are ten creative ways you can use Pinterest in your everyday life, but don’t stop at these. If you have special interests or hobbies, use these ideas to generate other useful boards for yourself. With this visual tool, the sky’s the limit!

#1 – Foods You Want to Cook

If you cook regularly, chances are you’ll want to experiment with cooking new and exotic foods every once in a while.

Instead of having to come up with what you want to cook every night, just start pinning interesting food ideas. Then when it’s time to cook a meal, navigate to your Pinterest board and you’ll have a whole array of ideas to choose from.

You can even come up with theme boards for upcoming holidays and events. It’s a great way to brainstorm what wonderful concoctions you may want to create.

#2 – Places You Want to Go

Where do you want to go? Do you want to see the deserts of India, or the beaches in the Caribbean? Or would you rather explore some history in Rome?

Put all the places you want to go on a Pinterest board. This can facilitate a lot of discussion between you and your friends, potentially spawning a real trip. It can also be inspirational and motivational to get you to finally go.

TIP: Create a “Places I’ve Been” board and move places of your wish list to the places you’ve been as you check them off your list.

#3 – Home Decorating Ideas

How can you make your home look even better than it does now? People who sit down and try to design how a home should look often hit a kind of block. The creative juices just don’t flow.

Instead, you can just pin images of beautiful designs and beautiful homes as you go about your daily life. Once you’re ready to start decorating your home, you’ll already have a whole reference library of ideas that you think look great.

#4 – Gift Ideas

There are numerous ways you can use Pinterest for your gift ideas, depending on the occasion and/or recipient. Here are a couple ideas to get you started.

First, you can use it as a gift registry. For birthdays or for weddings, just use Pinterest to save ideas for things you’d like other people to buy for you. Smart, eh?

You can also use Pinterest as a running bank of gift ideas. When it’s someone’s birthday or when Christmas rolls around, just open up your gift registry and you’ll be able to instantly come up with gift ideas.

If you need input on a group gift or from the gift recipient, ask them to collaborate on your board. Let others in on the fun and come up with a great gift ideas.

#5 – Skills to Learn

What are some of the skills you want to learn? Use Pinterest to help motivate yourself and your friends to get involved with more activities.

If you’ve always wanted to learn public speaking, pin up a few images of great speakers. If you’ve always wanted to learn Salsa, pin up a few passionate dance photos. If you want to get inspired to decorate your child’s birthday cake in a fun new way, pin some ideas.

This will help get yourself moving towards learning those skills; as well as tell your friends what you’re interested in. You might find yourself a learning partner! You can also use Pinterest to share pictures of your home office, parties you host or attend, and much more…

#6 – Show Your Art

Do you do some sort of art? Pinterest is the perfect place to share it.

Whether you make earrings or paint, whether you just draw for fun or are an amateur photgrapher, Pinterest is a fantastic way to put your art out into the world and share it with all your Pinterest friends and the rest of their members.

Think of it as your own little portfolio to inspire and get your artwork shared.

#7 – Pictures of Your Kids

Every parent loves to talk about and show off their kids. Pinterest is a great place to do it. You can create Pinterest boards of your kids in a number of different ways.

You could create a Pinterest board with a picture of your child taken once a month, so you can watch your child grow up over time.

Or create Pinterest boards with your child in a different place in each photo. You can even share pictures of their art and special projects.

There are so many ways to have fun with this and get the family involved too.

#8 – Share Your Office

What do you do professionally? A lot of people who know you personally would be curious about what it’s really like where you work, no matter where you work.

What does the office of an accountant look like? What does a CEO’s office view look like from their window? What does a Starbucks back room look like? What does a refrigerator factory look like from the inside?

No matter what kind of work you do, chances are there are people you know who’ll find it really interesting to see what it’s really like. Share some photos of what your workplace really looks like.

#9 – Event Pictures

Pinterest is a great way to share photos of events, parties and gatherings. With Facebook, only friends can see the photos. Also, people need to be tagged before they’ll notice most photos.

On Pinterest, the photos are open to all the world to see. People following you will have the event’s photos appear in their feeds.

You can have collaborators on your event’s boards, so everyone with a camera can upload and pin the photos they took at the event.

#10 – Your Life Vision

The idea of vision boards exploded with the release of the movie “The Secret.” The movie talks about how having a board where you put all your dreams and goals can help move you closer and closer towards your vision.

Ask yourself: Where do you want to be in your life in terms of your health, your career and your relationships? Pin up inspiring photos of each of these different areas of your life.

These are ten different ways you can use Pinterest in your personal life. Using Pinterest, you can share your life with others, inspire yourself, communicate ideas, post reminders and more.

Pin It…It’s Your Board!

There’s no right or wrong approach to Pinterest, so have fun with it. Share what you love, what inspires you or makes you laugh. And be sure to check out Lisa Suttora’s excellent training to get started quickly with Pinterest.

Lisa Suttora is an eCommerce expert. During the past ten years she has taught at eBay University a number of times, as well as teaching thousands of her own students how to source products and build a profitable business. She continues to be one of 34 eBay Certified Providers worldwide. This all came about because she wanted to stay home to raise her two young children. In 2001 she walked away from her six figure a year corporate job and has never looked back. I truly admire Lisa for what she has accomplished. She began by teaching others how to sell on Amazon and eBay, and continues to expand her reach.

In this interview we discuss all of this and more as we delve into the thought process behind building a successful and lucrative Internet business. We also talk about Pinterest, and her new training program for this fast growing social media site. You’ll want to be sure to take notes while you listen to this informative call.

In 2005 I started on a path that led me to leave my job as a classroom teacher, give away all of my real estate clients, and come online full time in 2006. I had no idea where this would lead me, but now I know that I was meant to change my life in a big way at that time.  I do believe that anyone can make this type of change in their life, but you must take the necessary steps to ensure you are building a business that will sustain you for years to come. This requires hard work as you build a list of prospects and clients, increase your online visibility, and set up the systems that will bring the profitability necessary for a successful business on the Internet.

Start by setting up a hosted WordPress blog. The hosting account will cost you less than a hundred dollars a year, and enable you to set up as many sites as you want to over time without any additional cost. I recommend Blue Host because of their customer service and c-panel features. This will also mean that you own your blog, instead of trying to start a business by using a free blogging platform, such as Blogger, that you could lose at any time if it gets shut down. Start out by posting about yourself and what you are working on. It will seem very personal in the beginning, and over time you will find that you are sharing more and more on your topic.

Include an optin box on your blog so that visitors can sign up to join your list to find out more about what you are doing. You’ll need an autoreponder service for this, and I recommend using either 1 Shopping Cart or Aweber for this. You will need to put together a check list or short report on your topic to offer as the free giveaway for this. Long ago people would sign up to receive an Ezine or a newsletter, but now everyone expects to receive some time of complimentary information, in audio (mp3), video, or written (PDF) format, as their incentive for signing up to be on your list.

Next, be sure to use your keywords for your blog post titles so that the search engines begin to see what you will be talking about. This can be a confusing part of the process, so take a look at other people’s sites to see which words and phrases they are optimizing for on their blog. Google offers a free tool, their Keyword Tool External, to make this much easier to understand. Don’t worry if this part of the process sounds confusing right now. Just know that we are found on the Internet by the words we use to describe our niche topic.

Now it’s time to monetize this entire process. You’ll need something to sell, so think about choosing an affiliate product in the very beginning instead of creating your own product right away. The best choices for this are products and services you have purchased and used in your own businesses. By recommending these to the people who come to you for help and information, you can begin to start the steady flow of income that will lead to online profitability in your online business.

Getting started online can be broken down into a series of actionable steps, and starting your own hosted WordPress blog is the first step to online success.